When we are up against it in terms of money, getting yet another bill through the letterbox is enough to send into a fit of stress and worry. Bills need to be paid, but we don’t have to pay through the nose for our utilities and insurance. If you need to completely rebuild your financial foundations, you need to look holistically. Every aspect of your spending needs to be addressed. With this in mind, here are four practical ways to reduce the cost of your home insurance.
Pay annually
Although it may be hard to muster up a large sum of money at any one time, it will save you money on your home insurance if you can do so. By paying in monthly instalments you end up paying extra over the course of the year, and this ‘extra’ amount could be anything from 5-20%. This is because insurers add interest to monthly payments, something they do not do on annual payments.
Combined insurance
Most people like to insure both their contents and the bricks and mortar that make up a house. Although you pay more, generally it’s acknowledged it’s the contents that turns a house into a home so protecting them against the worst is just as important as protecting the actual building. However, if you buy contents and buildings insurance separately you will probably pay more overall than if you bought combined cover. Plus, seeing as you have enough paperwork to deal with, just one bill is much easier to deal with.
Increase the excess
The excess is the amount you pay towards a claim and it is usually set at around £100 to £200. However, if you choose to voluntarily increase the excess by £50 to £250 or so, you can greatly reduced the cost of your premium. However, we should warn you this only works if you rarely make a claim. If you are the kind of person that claims regularly for small, low-value items, this route is not cost effective. But, if you rarely claim this is one of the best ways to lower your insurance costs significantly.
Improved safety
Insurance companies deal in risk. People who pose a high risk pay greater insurance. One of the easiest ways to lower your risk level is to install a burglar alarm approved by your insurer and to join the neighbourhood watch. If you do both you could chop up to 15% off the cost of your home insurance and obviously, reduce the probability of getting burgled.
The suggestion to pay your insurance premium annually if at all possible makes sense. Insurance companies add a large percentage in interest for monthly payers and that can make a sizeable difference to the overall amount paid.
I’d also suggest using price comparison websites to look for the best deal on home insurance. Let someone else do the work of finding the right policy to suit you. It’s amazing just how much can be saved in this way. Too many people just renew their insurance without first checking to see if there are any better deals around.